


(Evil?) Queen Grell

by Shinigami_Mistress (Southern_Breeze)



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Crack, Gen, It's crack but everyone is in character, Just A Whole Lot Of Fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 21:16:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16167134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Southern_Breeze/pseuds/Shinigami_Mistress
Summary: Grell was the beautiful queen of a chaotic land. Everything was going well, until her magic mirror showed her the face of someone who might be fairer.





	(Evil?) Queen Grell

Once upon a time there was a beautiful yet slightly insane queen named Grell who ruled over her chaotic kingdom with flair and a certain deadly charm. She was a beauty to behold with blood red hair, fair skin, and eyes of green and gold, but she was as dangerous as she was beautiful. Everyone approached the queen with great caution as no one wanted to incur her wrath.

Each day began the same for queen, although she typically eschewed routine, and this day was no different. She awoke at her own leisure and then went through an intense beauty ritual. No one, not even her most faithful servants, was allowed to lay eyes on her until her hair was styled, her makeup applied, and her wardrobe perfectly assembled. Today she had styled her hair in loose ringlets that were piled upon her head with only a few curls allowed to cascade down her bare back. Her dress was scarlet - a shade darker than her hair, and clung like a second skin to show off her slender muscles. It was cut low in back; stopping just shy of her hips although the skirt was full. With the dresses gold trim, she truly looked like a present just waiting to be opened.

Finally ready, Queen Grell quit her chamber, but she didn’t go to her throne room or even to the dining hall. Instead, she walked down a long hall to a set of narrow steps that led to a tall tower forbidden to everyone but her. This was also part of her ritual, and everyone had long since learned to stay back. The queen was not to be approached until it was completed.

At the top of the tower was a tiny, round room with a single window that commanded a spectacular view of much of the kingdom. Grell ignored that as she crossed the room to remove a red, velvet curtain from the wall to reveal an ancient mirror.

The black trimmed mirror wasn’t much to look at. There were cracks along the right bottom corner that looked like a growing spider’s web, and the surface had a scratched, burnished appearance that didn’t seem as if it would be good for reflection. Grell, however, ignored all these things as she stepped in front of the mirror.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall,” she began, “Who is the most fabulous of them all?”

“Fu, fu, fu,” a voice laughed, “You know the rules for a request so bold. To hear my truth, a joke must be told.” A face formed in the mirror - a pale face mostly covered by a mass of silver hair. The eyes were hidden, but the mad smile was in plain view. A twisted scar crossed threw the visible flesh before disappearing beneath the hair.

“Stupid mirror,” she growled, “Answer my question before I break you. Am I still the fairest?”

“Temper. Temper, my hothead queen,” replied the mirror, “I have much to reveal. There’s much to be seen. A simple joke - a humble laugh will do, and I will show everything to you.”

Grell shook her head, but thankfully she had heard a joke just the other day. Because of the mirror, she had started collecting jokes so that each day she could hear what the mirror had to say. “In Florence, a young woman who was somewhat a simpleton, was on the point of delivering a baby,” Grell began, “She had been enduring pain for some time and the midwife, candle in hand, inspected her. ‘The baby should be coming,’ said the midwife. ‘Look also on the other side,’ the woman said, ‘My husband sometimes takes that road.’”

The mirror didn’t speak for a few moments. He only shook his head and gave the tiniest of gigglies. “That wasn’t much,” he said, “There was no zing, so I will show you some but not everything.”

“Just show me!” Grell insisted.

The face melted from in view and in its place Grell saw a tall man with pale skin and raven black hair. He moved elegantly, almost catlike as he performed generic servant duties with his own special flair.

“He certainly is a handsome man,” Grell cooed, “Perhaps I should introduce myself.”

“This man, Sebastian is his name, already knows of you and of your fame,” stated the mirror.

“Oh?”

The image faded as the face returned to the forefront to nod. “Sebastian has seen you; has examined your face,” said the mirror, “He called you a freak and a perverted disgrace.”

Grell gritted her rather sharp teeth together. She threw the curtain back over the mirror and rushed out of the room. She raced as fast as she could down to the dungeons - thinking that she was getting quite the workout this morning. At least it was good for her gorgeous legs.

“Othello!” she shouted as she ran into a small room off of the dungeon.

A small man with bushy dark hair looked up as she ran into the room. He smiled around a piece of black licorice, but he didn’t bother standing up. “Well, if it isn’t dear Grell,” he said, “It’s not often you come to visit me.”

“You’re supposed to refer to me Your Majesty,” Grell said, “but that isn’t important now. Do you have my apples ready?”

“Absolutely,” he said, “Although I’m really a scientist and not some sort of evil cook you know.” He jumped to his feet and crossed the room where he picked up a serving tray. There were two apples on the tray - one green and one red. Both looked very ripe and delicious. “The green apple is a special poison apple of my design,” he explained, “Once some takes a bite of it, they will fall into a deep sleep that can only be awakened by a true love’s kiss.”

“Why is it always a kiss?” Grell asked.

“Medieval sorcerer's code, 10577,” Othello answered, “It was one of the few concessions we had to made. Anyway, the green one is poison and the red one is that special love at first sight apple you wanted me to make for Willy poo.”

Grell picked up the apple. “Aw, my dear William,” she said, “One bite of this, and I will melt that cold heart of yours so you will be all mine.” With a laugh, she gathered both apples in her hands. Using her own magic, she transformed her image from that of a glorious queen, to that of a lowly and somewhat plain looking servant. Apples in hand, she set out on her new mission.

As she left, Othello resumed eating his licorice. “Wait,” he mumbled to himself, “Maybe the green one is the love potion and the red one is poison. I don’t know. Grell will figure it out.” He leaned back in his chair as he crossed his arms behind his head.

No one noticed the rather mousy servant with the now long, brown hair exit the castle and run through the kingdom. While Grell hated being seen in such drab attire with boring hair and no makeup, it was the easiest way for her to travel without her guards. Without pausing, she hurried into the surrounding woods.

William, her beloved, was a woodsman, so he was always in the woods this time of day. Following the sound of the axe, she found him rather quickly where he was working with his apprentice, a young blonde man by the name of Ronald.

“Hello, William!” Grell called as she approached. To her great fortune he appeared to be alone. She wouldn’t want Ronald or anyone else accidentally eating the apple. “A fine day to be cutting wood, is it not?”

William paused; his axe casually perched across his right shoulder. “So far, we on schedule, so that’s good,” he answered, as he narrowed his eyes. “You know me by name, but I don’t believe we’ve met.” He was a tall, handsome man. While he wasn’t as flashy as Sebastian, he was still quite easy on the eyes with dark hair, intelligent green eyes, and well made features.

“Oh, you’re just well known is all,” Grell said - half cursing her disguise, “Here, have an apple. I’m sure you’re hungry from all that hard work. Reaching into a basket she had been carrying, she produced the red apple. “I just picked it, so it’s fresh. It would be a delicious snack for you.”

William took the apple hesitantly. “Thank you, I suppose,” he said.

“Just don’t eat it until I get back,” Grell said, as she turned away, “I want you to be looking in my eyes.” Laughing, Grell hurried away.

“Honestly,” William said, as adjusted his glasses. It was a strange encounter, but at least the apple did look appetizing. After wiping it on his shirt, he took a large bite.

From the vision she had seen in the mirror, she knew that Sebastian was currently working at the Phantomhive estate, which was just outside of her kingdom. She hurried to the location, and was happy to see that Sebastian was standing outside, serving some young brat on the lawn. She could have sworn there were actually two brats that lived here, but she never really cared for much details. Sebastian was her target, so she marched straight up to him.

“Working hard, I see,” Grell greeted.

“It is my duty to work as hard as is needed by my master,” Sebastian answered. In person, he was even more charming that just his image, but she would not be deterred. After all, he had supposedly called her a freak.

“From one servant to another, here,” Grell said, as she handed him the green apple, “Please, take a bite.”

“No thank you,” Sebastian said, and he started to drop the apple to the ground.

“Wait!” Grell cried, as she caught the apple, “I insist. You don’t want to be rude now, do you?”

“Sebastian!” the boy yelled, “Just take a bite of the apple and get rid of that freak! We have a lot to do today.”

“Yes, my Lord,” Sebastian said. As instructed, he took the apple and took a large bite of it. He chewed and swallowed the piece, as Grell watched - her disguise fading slowly until she was back to her usual, wonderful self.

“How do you feel?” Grell asked.

“A bit surprised to see you, Queen Grell,” Sebastian said, as he took her arm, “I’m afraid I’ll have to escort you off the property. Master’s orders. Although, for once I find myself hating to have to follow those orders.”

“You do?” asked Grell. Her voice raised in surprise as she was removed from the property. She had expected him to feel weak or at least ill. Othello had assured her the apples worked rather quickly.

“Yes,” Sebastian said, “because I find you rather fetching at the moment.”

Realization struck Grell with the force of a bolt of errant lightning. The apples had been switched! She would have to get her hands on Othello later but she had more important things to worry about at the moment. “William!” she cried as she jerked from Sebastian’s grasp and ran with the speed of a frightened lover back to the woods.

The first thing she saw when she returned was Ronald. He had apparently just been in another part of the woods when she had been here before. The young man was now leaning down over the prone body of William who was lying in a rather awkward position. “William!” she cried again, as she ran to the spot and knelt by his side.

“Oh, Queen Grell!” Ronald exclaimed, as he stood and rubbed the back of his head rather awkwardly. He noticed her attention was on William. “Yeah, the old man just sort of collapsed or something. I found him like this, with this apple by his body.” He held up the apple with a very conspicuous bite missing.

“Get rid of that!” Grell hissed, and she swatted the apple from his hand. Looking back at William, she shook her head. “I told you to wait,” she said, “but no matter. I’ll save you.”

Standing, she straightened her dress. “Make my darling comfortable,” she said, “and I’ll be right back to save him.” With that order, she dashed behind a clump of trees while Ronald was left only to stare down at William.

All it took was a kiss, but soon her darling would be looking straight into her eyes, so she had to look her absolute best. She took out a compact to make sure her makeup was still intact. Her reflection was so attractive, she couldn’t resist but wink at it before she pulled out her lipstick to reapply it. A little extra touch never hurt. Just as she finished, she heard Ronald cry out - yelling for someone or something to stop.

She reemerged, but she found Ronald now standing alone as William’s body was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s my darling?” she asked.

“He was taken by some...big, black cloud thing,” Ronald said, “I don’t know what it was, but it just swooped down and took him.”

“Where did it take him?” Grell cried.

Ronald pointed to a road that led away from the kingdom and towards the forbidden castle of dolls. “That way,” he explained, “I didn’t even have a chance to stop it.”

“Like you could have,” Grell snapped. Looking around, she grabbed an axe before running at full speed towards the forbidden castle.

“You don’t have to get all pissy with me,” Ronald mumbled, as he sat down in the shade to wait.

 

The road towards the castle was rough as it was rarely taken, and Grell nearly tripped several times over rocks, thorns, and tree roots which had overtaken the path. This was no road to attempt wearing heels, even though they made Grell’s backside look delectable. With great care and great speed, she hurried towards the castle, which loomed before her like a dark mountain.

“What are you doing here, my queen?” a familiar voice asked.

Grell turned and saw Sebastian sitting on a nearby rock. “I could ask you the same thing,” she said.

Sebastian stood and walked towards here. “I’m just here to make sure you don’t anything foolish,” he said, “You seem to be heading towards the Castle of Dolls. That would be a mistake. You know there’s countless possessed dolls in there all posed to attack, and they will turn you into a doll yourself if they manage to catch you.”

“They aren’t going to stop me,” Grell said, “I have to go in there and rescue William. He’s in there!”

“I know,” Sebastian replied, “I put him there.”

“You?” Grell asked, “But why?”

He moved closer to Grell; the soft wind toying with his hair like a lover’s caressing fingers. “I didn’t want the competition,” he said, “I wanted you for myself all alone.” He wrapped Grell in his arms. “Leave him and love only me,” he purred.

This was certainly unexpected, but now that Grell was in this situation she realized even more that William was the one she wanted. Sebastian was certainly handsome, and it did her ego good to hear him profess his love to her, but he would nothing more than a fling. She wanted passion, romance, and love.

“It would never work out,” she said, as she pushed away, “I must save my William. If you try and stop, I will fight you.”

“I would never dream of trying to stop you,” he said, with an odd smile, “Do what you feel you must.”

Grell was surprised by his lack of willingness to fight, but she was happy there would be no more interruptions from Sebastian. With a quick nod, she hurried on down the path until she came to the castle.

From the outside, it only looked like a run-down, slightly crumbling castle. It wasn’t even all that impressive as her own castle was much larger and more elaborate, but there was a feeling in the air that seemed to take your breath as you approached. Grell recognized this as very old, very dark magic, but she had to press on. Bravely, she opened the doors.

There were dolls everywhere. Broken marionettes hung from the ceiling. Smaller, children’s dolls littered the floor, while large, human sized dolls were lying on chairs or propped against the walls. Grell stepped into the room, and the door slammed shut behind her, as the dolls all opened their eyes slowly and turned towards her. A soft growl from an unknown source slipped around the room and she could hear the creaking of their joints as they began to move as one.

“For William!” she cried, with the axe high above her head. Leaping into the air, she sliced through the mannequins’ strings and they made a cry like a rusty scream, before she raced through the room. She moved like a animal released from its cage as she chopped and cut at everything in sight. Not a single doll lay a digit on her as soon they all lay in mangled heaps of chopped limbs and heads.

She hurried up the steps and she searched for William. There were dolls in every room, but none stood a chance against her. Soon they ever tried to retreat, as she saw them scurrying to hide under beds and in dressers, but she was determined not to let one live. After searching many rooms, she finally found William lying on the bed of rather large, impressive bedroom. Breathing a sigh of relief, she stepped into the room to deliver her loving kiss.

A final doll jumped in her path. Some distant part of her mind realized that this doll looked much like the brat Sebastian served, but she didn’t care about such details. He moved with a precision and intelligence unlike the other dolls.

But he was still an obstacle.

There was shock and horror on his painted face when she attacked with her axe. He dissolved into sawdust within minutes as if he had never had a solid form, leaving Grell the easy victor. With a smile on her face, she jumped over the pile of dust to kneel by William’s side.

“My darling,” she said, as she pushed back a strand of hair from his forehead, “I’m here.”

“You did a good job,” Sebastian suddenly said. Somehow, he had suddenly appeared in the room, and was now sifting through the sawdust left by the last doll.

“I’m not leaving William for you,” Grell said.

Sebastian laughed. “Do you really think your little love potion ever worked on me?” he asked, “I only needed this.” He pulled a brilliant blue ring from the dust. “I was forbidden from directly destroying this doll, so I needed someone to do that for me. You did wonderfully.” He smiled darkly as he bowed. “I truly hope we never cross paths again,” he said before leaving the room.

“Jerk,” Grell muttered, but there were more important things to focus on now. With a gentle smile, she leaned forward and kissed William deeply.

He opened his eyes almost immediately. “What are you doing?” he demanded, as he pushed her back. Sitting up in bed, he looked out a nearby window. “Is it that late?” he asked, noticing the sun, “Where has the day gone. I’ll have to work overtime tonight or I will fall behind.” Mumbling to himself, he quickly stood and left the room.

Grell smiled. Her ice cold darling was back, and her love had brought him back. True, she was the reason he had fallen into the sleep to begin with, but he didn’t need to know about that particular detail.

  


It was after dark before Grell returned to her castle. Taking a candle, she hurried up to her tower to see the mirror one more time that day. When she removed the curtain, the silly face appeared to be sleeping and snoring - a line of drool escaping his mouth.

“Wake up!” she hissed, and the face slowly shook itself awake.

“Aw, my queen,” he began, “I watched your travel. A mistake in the apples almost made your plans unravel. But you did well, facing all those dolls. Shame old Willy still won’t be returning your calls. Fu. Fu. Fu.”

“Never mind that,” Grell hissed, “but I have a question. Why did you tell me about Sebastian? I want to be the fairest in my kingdom - my land. Sebastian lives outside my borders.”

The face smiled. “I’ll tell you this time without asking for pay, because watching you through my glass has truly made my day. I showed you Sebastian. That much is true, but never did I once say he was fairer than you.”

Grell was shocked. “You...you tricked me?” she asked, “Then, am I still the fairest in the land.”

“Well, there is someone fairer, and that much is plain to see,” he answered, as he shook back his hair revealing his handsome face. “The fairest in the land is actually me!”

Grell frowned as she pulled a hammer from the inner liner of her sleeve. With one simple swing, she took care of the problem at hand.

“Who needs a magic mirror anyway,” she said, as she dropped the hammer to the floor and left the room.


End file.
